Fintech entrepreneur boosts Black Academic Futures program
Fintech entrepreneur Valerie Moran has donated funds to create two fully funded scholarships for black UK PhD students through the Black Academic Futures program at the University of Oxford.
The initiative, launched last year, aims to tackle the under-representation of black students at the University of Oxford.
While the program provided 13 scholarships in its first year, it is now expanding to offer up to 30 full scholarships annually to Black British and Mixed Black students, thanks in part to philanthropic support from individuals like Moran.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Moran co-founded fintech firm Prepaid Financial Services with her husband Noel Moran after moving to London in 2004 to pursue a career in technology.
Her philanthropy supports future generations by ensuring that ethnic minority students are given every opportunity to apply and compete for job opportunities.
The Oxford-Moran Scholarships, which will be available to eligible students across all disciplines at all Oxford colleges, will cover course fees, living costs and provide on-course guidance and support to recipients. The first scholars are expected to begin their studies in the academic year 2023/24.
The Black Academic Futures program was developed in response to the under-representation of Black UK research students at Oxford. In the 2020/21 academic year, only 1.5% of UK-domiciled black students were research students at Oxford, compared to 4.8% in the UK higher education sector.
The programme’s aim is to increase applications from and funded places for well-qualified UK black graduate students.
In the academic year 2021/22, applications from UK-domiciled black applicants for full-time graduate research degrees increased by 27%, with an overall increase of 24% for full-time PhD researchers from UK-resident black and mixed black applicants.
The program is part of the University’s efforts to increase the number of graduate students from underrepresented groups, and reinforces the University’s commitment to addressing racial equity, combating discrimination and building an inclusive postgraduate community.
Moran said, “As a black female entrepreneur, my focus with all of my companies has been to hire employees on merit. I therefore understand that ethnic minority students need the support of people like myself to ensure that future generations are given every opportunity to apply and compete for the the same job opportunities.”
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